User Guide

When the current inputs are valid, the planner recalculates automatically about 600 milliseconds after editing stops. Calculations run in the background, so you can continue using the page while an updated projection is prepared. The Calculate Retirement Projection button can still trigger an immediate update.

1. Enter your current age, planned retirement age, and life expectancy.
2. Add each investment and cash holding as a separate asset class.
3. Enter the current balance, contribution, contribution ages, expected return, and annual fees for each asset.
4. Enter retirement spending, pensions, additional expenses, and cash contributions.
5. Add real estate and select the asset that should receive the sale proceeds.
6. Select individual asset charts or use Show All Charts.
7. Review the FIRE Summary, yearly projection, and charts.

Select Current Settings, immediately to the left of Input Wizard, to open a read-only overview of all values currently entered in the planner.

The overview uses a three-column layout on wide screens and shows only entered values that participate in an active calculation. It groups personal information, contributions, market assumptions, spending, pensions, cash reserves, and every asset class. Mortgage, German investment tax, real estate, additional expenses, and additional cash contributions appear only when their calculation feature is enabled; inactive branches and display-only chart options are omitted.

Purchase List details are intentionally omitted from this overview. Open the applicable ETF or stock asset and select Purchase List to review or edit its individual purchase lots.

The popup reflects the form's current values, including edits made since it was opened previously. Close it with Close, Done, the Escape key, or by selecting the shaded area outside the popup.

Current Age is your age today.

Retirement Age is the age when the retirement phase starts.

Life Expectancy is the final age included in the projection. A higher age creates a longer planning horizon.

Select Input Wizard at the right edge of the Inputs heading to complete the main personal and financial information through a guided sequence.

The wizard covers your personal timeline, assets and contributions, retirement spending, pensions, mortgage, real estate, expected return, inflation, and FIRE target rate.

Select Apply Personalized Inputs on the review step to update the detailed Inputs, save the values in this browser, and recalculate the projection.

Advanced asset settings, one-time expenses, and dated additional cash contributions are preserved and remain editable in the detailed sections.

Asset Classes keep investments and cash holdings separate. Examples include a global ETF, a single stock, cash, or another asset.

Asset Name identifies the holding in forms, dropdowns, and charts. Use a clear name when you have more than one asset of the same type.

Type identifies whether the row is a Global ETF, Single Stock, Cash, or Other asset.

Current Balance is the asset value today.

Contribution is the amount regularly added to that specific asset using the selected global contribution frequency. This applies to Global ETF, Single Stock, Cash, and Other assets.

Cash-asset contributions increase both the selected cash row and the Cash Balance in Yearly Projection. They are also included in Total Contribution per Month. The separate Additional Cash Contribution / Month column remains limited to dated entries from Monthly Additional Cash Contributions.

Volatility records the expected variability of the asset. It can be used by risk and simulation calculations.

Dividend Yield is informational. It is already part of a total-return assumption and is not added again to Expected Return.

ETF and stock purchase lists

Every Global ETF and Single Stock row has a Purchase List button at the bottom-left, opposite the Remove button. The number in parentheses shows how many purchase rows are stored for that asset. Cash and Other assets do not show this button.

The popup stores one row for every purchase. Enter the Purchase Date, Units, and total Acquisition Cost including transaction costs. ETF rows also accept any Previously Assessed Vorabpauschale assigned to that lot; this field is marked not applicable for an individual stock. Use Add Purchase for another row and Remove Row to delete only that purchase.

Treat one Asset Class row as one security in one depot. When the same ETF or stock is held in another depot, create another Asset Class row so the purchase order remains separate. Purchase lists auto-save with the other inputs and are included in JSON export and import.

Purchase rows should describe the units still held in that Asset Class row. When units were already sold, remove or adjust the affected rows so the remaining acquisition history matches the current holding as closely as possible.

German investment tax estimate

Version 1.20 uses the Purchase List when a Global ETF or Single Stock is sold for retirement spending, a one-time expense, or a remaining mortgage balance. The oldest purchase row is consumed first using FIFO. The planner calculates the acquisition cost and any previously assessed Vorabpauschale assigned to the sold portion before determining the realized gain.

Select the German Tax Classification on every ETF or stock. The available choices are Equity Fund / ETF with a 30% partial exemption, Mixed Fund / ETF with a 15% partial exemption, Other Fund / ETF with no partial exemption, Individual Stock with no partial exemption, and Tax Exempt. This is a tax classification, not an expected-return setting.

Open Settings → German Investment Tax to enable or disable the estimate, set the annual Sparer-Pauschbetrag available for sales, enter how much of the allowance was already used in the projection start year, select church tax, and set the projection start month and year. The allowance resets by calendar year, so the start date matters when one age row crosses 1 January.

When tax applies, the planner increases the gross ETF or stock sale until the required net spending or mortgage amount remains after tax. Yearly Projection can display Gross ETF / Stock Sales, Realized Capital Gain, Taxable Gain After Allowance, German Investment Tax, Net ETF / Stock Sale Proceeds, and Remaining Sparer-Pauschbetrag.

By default, Yearly Projection selects the nine core monthly cash-flow and sustainable-spending columns. Total Contributions, One-Time Additional Expenses, and the six German investment-tax detail columns remain available in Columns but start unchecked to keep the table focused.

Enter Previously Assessed Vorabpauschale as the gross amount assigned to the still-held ETF purchase row. Enter 0 when the information is unavailable. Missing acquisition data is treated conservatively as zero acquisition cost and produces a visible warning.

The estimate does not model dividends, cash interest, loss-offset pots, foreign withholding tax, future Vorabpauschale accruals, or an individual tax assessment. Reduce the annual allowance entered for sales when other capital income is expected to use part of it.

Chart selection

Use the checkbox on an individual asset to show or hide its separate chart.

The Show All Charts checkbox appears to the right of the Asset Classes heading.

• Checked: every asset chart is selected.
• Unchecked: every asset chart is hidden.
• Individual asset checkboxes still work after using Show All Charts.
• Each selected asset remains a separate chart with its own scale.

Each non-cash asset can have its own contribution amount, start age, and stop age.

Start Age is inclusive. A contribution is made from that age onward while the contribution remains active.

Start Age 0 means contributions begin at the current age.

Stop Age is exclusive. No contribution is made from that age onward.

Stop Age 0 means the global Contribution Stop Age is used.

The global Contribution Stop Age and Retirement Age can still limit how long contributions continue.

Expected Return before Fees is the gross total annual return expected for that asset. It already includes price growth and dividends.

Annual Investment Fees is the recurring annual percentage cost for that asset. It is available for every asset type.

• Empty or 0 means no annual fee.
• Enter 0.20 for a fee of 0.20% per year.
• Net annual growth equals Expected Return minus Annual Investment Fees.
• Fees are applied only to the asset that owns them.

The global Expected Annual Returnremains an overall or fallback assumption. The separate asset charts use each asset's own expected return and fee.

Inflation Rateincreases future spending and other values entered in today's money.

Scenario presets such as Conservative and Base Case provide quick alternative global assumptions.

Monthly Spending Need before Statutory Pension applies from retirement until the statutory pension starts.

Monthly Spending Need in Retirement, today's €is the regular monthly amount expressed in today's purchasing power.

The planner applies inflation automatically in future years.

FIRE Target Rate calculates the estimated FIRE portfolio target. It does not directly change the entered spending amount.

One-Time Additional Expenses

Use this for a car, renovation, major trip, medical cost, or another expense that occurs once.

Enter the amount in today's money and the age when the expense should occur.

Monthly Additional Cash Contributions

Use these rows for temporary monthly cash inflows. Enter the age, start month, stop month, and annual increase.

Enter the expected annual gross Statutory Pension and its starting age.

Add an annual gross Employer Pension and starting age when applicable.

The annual increase controls how each pension changes after it starts.

Net pension values use simplified German tax, health-insurance, and nursing-care estimates. Actual deductions may differ.

Enable Mortgage to model an existing mortgage using the payment agreed with your lender.

Enter the outstanding balance, current fixed annual interest rate, Monthly Payment, and Remaining Fixed Term (Years). The app no longer calculates or assumes your monthly payment from the balance and term.

Mortgaged Property Sale at Age is optional and applies only to the property linked to this mortgage. It is independent of the separate property configured under Real Estate.

End-of-Term Action

Choose what happens to the outstanding balance when the current fixed-rate period ends:

• Pay Remaining Balance: choose one configured asset or All ETFs and Stocks. The balances shown in the dropdown are current balances, while the funding check uses projected balances at the fixed-term end, including growth, contributions, and sale proceeds already assigned to an asset. The Mortgage panel shows the projected required amount, projected available amount, and any unfunded balance directly below the dropdown. The combined option uses Global ETFs and Single Stocks only and sells proportionally. An earlier mortgaged-property sale takes precedence.
• Remortgage: the remaining balance moves to a new interest rate, monthly payment, and fixed term. At the end of that modeled remortgage term, any remaining balance is included as a final payment.

The mortgage summary shows your monthly payment, the age when the current fixed term ends, the balance at that point, the selected end action, projected payoff age, remaining interest, balance at retirement, and the calculated balance at the mortgaged-property sale.

Mortgage payments that continue after retirement are added automatically to retirement spending. A final remaining-balance payment is included in the year in which the applicable fixed term ends.

Total Mortgage Payments / Year in the Yearly Projection shows scheduled monthly payments plus any end-of-term remaining-balance payment made during that year.

When the mortgaged property is sold, scheduled payments stop at its sale age and the outstanding balance is shown as the sale payoff in Total Mortgage Payments / Year. The payoff is assumed to come from that property's sale proceeds and is not also added to retirement spending.

The mortgaged property's value and sale proceeds are not added to the separate Real Estate asset. The two properties remain independent throughout the calculation.

Real Estate represents a separate property from the one linked to Mortgage. It remains separate from portfolio and cash assets until its own sale age.

Real Estate Current Value is the estimated property value today.

Real Estate Growth Projection controls the expected yearly property-value growth before sale.

Real Estate Sale at Age controls whether and when the property is sold.

• Empty or 0: the property is not sold.
• Age greater than 0: the projected property value is sold at that age. No mortgage balance is deducted because this is a separate property.

Real Estate Sale Proceeds

The Real Estate Sale Proceedsdropdown selects the exact asset that receives this separate property's projected sale proceeds.

Every current asset is available, including ETFs, single stocks, other investments, and cash assets. Assets with duplicate names are distinguished by type and current balance.

At the sale age, the net proceeds are added to the selected asset. From then on, the proceeds use that asset's expected return minus its annual investment fees.

Selecting a cash asset adds the proceeds to cash totals and applies that selected cash asset's net return.

The selected asset's independent chart includes the sale proceeds from the sale age onward. Other asset charts are not changed by the sale.

Rent / Additional Spending adds a new monthly expense from the sale age onward when selling the property creates a housing cost.

FIRE Summary shows the main results of the current scenario.

Portfolio FIRE Target is the estimated required portfolio based on spending and the FIRE target rate.

Retirement Plan Sustainable means the modeled spendable portfolio and cash do not run out before the selected life expectancy.

Depletion Age is the projected age when spendable assets are exhausted.

Never means the modeled assets do not run out within the selected projection period.

Max Possible Spending / Month estimates the highest regular monthly spending that remains sustainable under the current assumptions.

Independent Asset Projections

Every selected asset appears in its own chart with its own Y-axis and scale.

Each chart uses only that asset's current balance, contribution timing, expected return, annual fees, and any real-estate sale proceeds directed to that asset.

Changing the ETF return does not change the Allianz chart values or scale, and changing Allianz does not change the ETF chart.

These individual charts are growth projections. Retirement withdrawals are not deducted from them.

Use individual chart checkboxes or Show All Charts to control which separate charts are visible.

Total Assets, Income, Withdrawals, and Spending

This chart shows the complete retirement scenario, including spendable portfolio and cash assets, withdrawals, pension income, and spending.

Asset Bridge

Shows the development of portfolio, cash, and real estate in the full retirement scenario.

Pension and Spending Bridge

Shows spending need, pension income, and the remaining amount that must be covered by personal assets.

How spending is covered

Move the mouse over any chart to see the exact value for an age.

Use Save / Load Inputs to keep the current assumptions in the browser.

Export JSON creates a file containing planner inputs, asset chart selections, annual fees, contribution ages, and the selected real-estate sale-proceeds asset.

Import the JSON later to restore the saved setup.

Export Summary CSV creates a spreadsheet-friendly summary.

Export PDF uses the browser print function so the results can be saved as a PDF.

• Test more than one scenario.
• Compare optimistic and conservative returns.
• Include realistic annual investment fees.
• Verify contribution start and stop ages for every asset.
• Confirm which asset receives real-estate sale proceeds.
• Test higher spending, lower returns, and higher inflation.
• Review assumptions regularly.
• Do not treat a projected value as guaranteed.